Darragh McMullan, Armagh, and Kieran McGeary, Tyrone, in Ulster SFC action at St Tiernach's Park. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile
Ulster SFC Semi-Final
Armagh 0-23 (0-1-21) Tyrone 0-22 (0-4-16)
By Francis Mooney at St Tiernach's Park
The All-Ireland champions grabbed a dramatic late winner to edge out Tyrone and book their place in the Ulster SFC final.
A Clones thriller went right to the wire, with the Red Hands fighting from six points behind to go two ahead heading down the closing stretch.
This was an Ulster derby to savour, a colourful and exhilarating reminder of how dearly the provincial championship is held in the northern province.
A crowd of 21,288 had St Tiernach’s Park bouncing, humming to the tune of a wonderfully contested tie between two fierce rivals.
In the end, it was Armagh who showed all the craft and experience built up under many seasons under Kieran McGeeney to keep alive their hopes of a first Ulster title since 2008, but Tyrone, stinging from the disappointment of relegation, will feel renewed and emboldened as they prepare for the All-Ireland series.
Darragh Canavan, after giving Tyrone an early lead, was well shackled by Paddy Burns, and it was left to Darren McCurry to carry the fight to the All-Ireland champions.
And Armagh soon found their stride, moving forward with purpose to reel off scores through Ross McQuillan, Oisin Conaty and a two-pointer from Oisin O’Neill as they went three ahead by the 11th minute.
The Tyrone defence was under sustained pressure, and needed a vital tackle from Michael McKernan to halt Conaty’s charge.
Building patiently from deep though McKernan and Kieran McGeary, Tyrone struggled to break down a well organised rearguard, but McCurry slotted over a couple of points to keep Malachy O’Rourke’s men in touch.
However, the Orchard men put a fierce press on Niall Morgan’s kick-outs, claiming more than their share of possession, and were more efficient in creating the space for a shot at the posts.
Callum O’Neill and Ethan Rafferty both found the target, but a Michael McKernan two-pointer changed the momentum, just when it looked like the Sam Maguire Cup holders were about to pull away.
McCurry brought the sides level, but Kieran McGeeney’s men were able to quicky restore their two points cushion with a couple of Andrew Murnin points.
McCurry, the only genuine threat in the Tyrone attack, brought his tally to five, but Callum O’Neill and Conaty stretched the advantage.
Midfielder O’Neill was a towering presence in the middle, and got back to execute a brilliant tackle on Brian Kennedy as the Tyrone skipper charged through the middle.
Armagh went in at the break with a 0-11 to 0-8 lead, and pushed on with a strong start to the second half.
Conaty was a constant thorn in the side of the Tyrone defence, firing over a couple of quick-fire points, and Ben Crealey stretched the lead out to six on 45 minutes, but McCurry was in the mood, and the Orchard could do nothing to stop him as he pinged over a few more gems.
Eoin McElholm came off the bench to add a further spark to the Tyrone attack, hitting a couple of points, and another sub, Peter Harte, sliced over a two-pointer to bring the sides level at 0-19 each on the hour.
And the Red Hands went ahead in a sequence which saw Armagh manager Kieran McGeeney concede a free, picking up a yellow card as well, and McCurry punished with a two-point conversion.
Now Armagh had to show their mettle, and they found the response they needed. Conor Turbitt, off the bench to add further quality to their attack, found the space to kick a point, and even after McElholm restored the two points cushion, the Sam Maguire Cup holders hit back with scores from Jarly Og Burns and a Stefan Campbell leveller, before Grugan capped it all off with that late winner.
Scorers for Armagh: O Conaty 0-4, O O’Neill (1tp), C O’Neill, R Grugan (2fs) 0-3 each, A Murnin, R McQuillan, J Og Burns 0-2 each, B Crealey, E Rafferty, S Campbell, C Turbitt 0-1 each.
Scorers for Tyrone: D McCurry 0-10 ( 4fs, 1tpf), D Canavan 0-4 (2fs), E McElholm, P Harte (tp), C Kilpatrick 0-2 (tp), M McKernan (tp) 0-2 each.
Armagh: E Rafferty; P Burns, B McCambridge, T McCormack; R McQuillan, G McCabe, J Og Burns; C O’Neill, B Crealey; D McMullan, O Conaty, P McGrane; R Grugan, A Murnin, O O’Neill.
Subs: C Turbitt for O O’Neill (51), J Hall for Crealey (53), C McConville for McMullan (61), S Campbell for Murnin (62) S McPartlan for McGrane (66).
Tyrone: N Morgan; C Quinn, P Teague, N Devlin; M McKernan, R Brennan, K McGeary; B Kennedy, C Kilpatrick; A Donaghy, J Oguz, C Daly; D McCurry, D Canavan, R Canavan.
Subs: S O’Donnell for Donaghy (41), B McDonnell for Oguz (47), E McElholm for R Canavan (47), P Harte for Daly (53), P Hampsey for Quinn (58).
Referee: D Gough (Meath).
